


Pining for Panache

by KARIN848



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Jack Zimmermann, Bitty is in Lardo Ransom and Holster's year, Bitty is not on the SMH team, Dumb Hockey Boys, Eventual Happy Ending, Figure Skater Eric "Bitty" Bittle, Identity Reveal, Jack and Kent drop out of the draft together before Jack's OD, Kent mistakingly helps Jack woo their mutual crush, M/M, Miscommunication, Multi, Nonbinary Larissa "Lardo" Duan, Pining, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Secret Admirer, Secret Identity, cyrano de bergerac au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25748419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KARIN848/pseuds/KARIN848
Summary: Jack Zimmermann runs across figure skater Eric Bittle during a chance encounter one day at Samwell University. A crush takes hold of him, and all he has to do is find a way to tell Eric about it. A series of anonymous love letters and gifts sounds like the perfect way to woo someone when you're a socially inexperienced hockey robot.Kent Parson meets Bitty during a chance encounter on campus and then through his teammates at the Samwell Men's Hockey Haus, whom this "Bitty" has been supplying with baked goods and a personality made of pure sunshine. His schedule is pretty packed with helping his best friend woo some "Eric" guy, but surely he can find some time on the side to pursue his own romantic endeavors - right?
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle & Larissa "Lardo" Duan, Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann, Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Kent "Parse" Parson, Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Kent "Parse" Parson/Jack Zimmermann, Larissa "Lardo" Duan/Shitty Knight (background)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 128
Collections: Check Please Heartbreak Fest 2020





	1. Jack Meets Eric

**Author's Note:**

  * For [halfdesertedstreets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfdesertedstreets/gifts).



> We did it!!! I actually completed a longfic lol  
> This fic was written for the [Check, Please! Heartbreak Fest](https://omgcpheartbreakfest.tumblr.com/) and to fulfill the prompt "Person A is trying to set up Person B with Person C, while being hopelessly in love with either/both." My giftee is [the lovely Anna!](https://halfdesertedstreets.tumblr.com/) whom I am so incredibly lucky to have gotten assigned for this event. Anna, you keep me passionate about this fandom and about BittyParse and PBJ in general. Thank you for inspiring my longest fic yet!  
> Just wanted to give a quick shoutout to my beta and buddy [Rachel](https://iboughtaplant.tumblr.com/) who has cheer-read and beta-d and kept me going when my fic-writing energy dimmed a bit. One last huge thank you for everyone in the Parse Posse!! Y'all bring sunshine and happiness into my everyday routine!  
> ~  
> This fic was saved as "PBJ Cyrano de Bergerac AU" on my laptop for forever until I realised two days before posting that I'd have to actually give it a name. So here we go! _Panache: A word of french origin that caries the connotation of flamboyant manner and reckless courage_

Jack hurries into his room and slams the door. Breathing heavily, he leans back against the door like a physical barricade against whatever emotional turmoil is on the other side. Kit Purrson scurries off the bed and hides underneath the desk next to Kent’s bed where her scratching post is kept. Kent keeps scrolling through Instagram, barely glancing up when Jack makes his abrupt return.

“Sup, Zimms? Someone get the battle of whatever mixed up with the world war of something else in your history class again and your nerd brain went apeshit?”

Jack absently drops his backpack down by the foot of his desk and sinks into a sitting position on his bed, in a daze. Kent finally notices something’s legitimately wrong with his best friend and sits up.

“Zimms? Talk to me here, you need some quiet time?”

Jack shakes his head. A faint whisper floats out from between his lips, “I think I just saw an angel.”

Kent tosses his phone aside and throws his legs over the side of his college-regulation twin mattress. (“I’m not gonna buy a different mattress Zimms, we can’t fit two Queens in this place, we could barely fit two Twins in the frosh dorm.”).

“Oh....okay...” Kent waits patiently for an explanation, eyebrows rising steadily higher when Jack doesn’t seem inclined to provide one.

“Sure, yeah. Ok, an angel, huh? Wow. You take a puck to the bucket when I wasn’t looking at practice this morning? What the hell are you talking about?”

Jack finally looks over and seems to come back to himself. A gentle blush starts to creep up his neck and over his cheeks.

“Ah, uh, I saw...someone. On my way back from class today.” Kent – used to Jack’s frugal use of words after so many years of friendship – waves his hand in an encouraging motion to get him to keep going.

“He was – he – I ran into him actually. He – he smiled, even though I practically flattened him. Said I was like a – uh – a friendly giant? I helped him up.”

Kent was steadily grinning throughout Jack’s halting retelling of the incident.

“Jack Laurent Zimmermann, you son of a bitch! Did you get this guy’s number?”

Jack went bright red and stared sternly at a spot on the carpet that held one of many unmentionable mystery stains common in the hockey Haus.

“I think I messed up actually. I didn’t end up saying anything. I left as soon as I could.” Jack’s eyes widened as his face rapidly lost its previous flush. He cursed under his breath and sighed, “I think I glared at him.”

Kent lost it. Howling in laughter, he flings himself back onto his sheets.

“You’re such a goddamn robot, Zimms. We should’ve taught you about this whole ‘human interaction’ concept by now. Fuck, I’m gonna bust my gut. You’re killing me here, death by second-hand embarrassment.”

Jack rubs the back of his neck and averts his eyes.

“I forgot to ask him his name. How will I find him again?” Kent stops laughing and bolts upright.

“Ooh, are we interested in finding him again? Does someone have a bit of a crush? Shall I put an ad out on Missed Connections?”

“Quit it Kenny, I’m not going to stalk him or anything.” Kent waves his hand in front of his face, as if to dispel the statement before Jack finishes saying it.

“Obviously! Jesus, despite popular belief, you’re not actually a serial killer.” He leans towards Jack, settling his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands between them loosely. “But seriously Zimms, I can’t remember the last time you were interested in anybody. Give me some details and I’ll start looking around for this guy if you’re really into him.”

“You’d...do that?” Kent crosses the room and ruffles Jack’s hair, causing him to smile slightly and bat him away.

“‘Course man, we’re besties. Alright hit me. Approximate height, weight, skin color, hair color, let’s go! We’re burning daylight here!”

Jack chuckles and hands over his notebook and a pencil when Kent makes obnoxious grabby hands at him.

“You have a paper you’re avoiding, don’t you?”

“Fuck yeah, why do you think I was drafting Kit’s next 5 Instagram posts for the last two hours before you got home?”

* * *

Kent is really regretting putting off that paper until the last minute. He groans and pulls out his phone to check his grades while hurrying to his next class. This professor is a huge stickler for attendance, which is the main reason why he bothered to actually get out of bed this morning and attend. Also, there may be a review for the upcoming exam and he really shouldn’t take another hit by choosing Netflix over studying again.

Alright let’s be real, he’ll probably end up watching Netflix again, but Zimms will make sure he has a textbook cracked open next to him at least. He always remembers enough during the actual exam to keep his necessary B average for hockey at least.

Rounding the corner of the quad, he nearly crashes into a guy. He’s coming from the other side of the main hall, busy talking animatedly to some short Asian girl with quite the severe undercut. Kent nearly drops his phone trying to dodge, but the kid performs an almost flawless spin-o-rama and avoids hitting him. He blinks rapidly as this short blonde ball of energy looks him up and down.

“Lord, I’m not even on the team and I keep getting checked by all these hockey boys lately!” Kent blanches. He’s used to getting recognized from his Juniors career of course, but this guy certainly doesn’t look like the usual college fan.

“Hey man, sorry about that. Class in six minutes across the quad, I should’ve been watching where I was going,” Kent apologies.

Shortie waves him off. “No problem! Lord knows we’ve all been there.” Kent nods and throws another grin at the girl when he realizes he’s completely ignored Shortie’s friend.

She nods back gently nudges her friend as she walks towards the direction Kent was coming from. “C’mon Bitty, the guys are waiting for us in the library.” Shor –Bitty. Bitty? Bitty jumps and follows her. As Kent finally comes back to himself and starts hustling to a class he might just barely make it to on time, Bitty grins and waves.

“Good luck!” Shortie says earnestly.

Kent gets a glimpse of the guy’s smile and drops his phone after all. Thankfully, it’s not scratched. He must have someone up high looking out for him today. He shakes his head and breaks out into a slight jog.

* * *

Kent doesn’t really think about the incident – too busy stressing about the new paper he has to get done by next Tuesday. They’ve got a game this weekend and practice will take up most of his time. He’s calculating the amount of time he could spend playing League in between study sessions when Jack drops his plate of chicken tenders and a Vitamin Water onto his table in the dining hall.

“I found him.” Is all he says before going to town on some truly lackluster university-made chicken monstrosities.

“Hmm?” Kent looks up from his burger. “Who?” Jack blushes and Kent suddenly gets it. “Oh, the guy! How? You thought the Facebook stalking was too much. Decide to go with something more old-fashioned? You hire a private detective?” he teases. Jack swallows and shakes his head.

“Shitty knows him apparently. They met at freshman orientation or something when Shitty volunteered to welcome the frogs in Samwell’s athletic department.” This catches Kent’s attention.

“He’s an athlete? Didn’t you say he was really tiny?” Jack nods.

“Apparently he’s here on a skating scholarship.” Jack keeps going when Kent opens his mouth. “He’s a figure skater. Won a bunch of awards back home.” Kent laughs.

“Christ Zimms, it’s like this was destiny or some shit. Of course you’d get a crush on another skater without even knowing he was a skater in the first place.” Jack smiles softly. Kent nudges him in the arm and grins.

“So Shitty told you his name at least right? Because if you’re oh-for-two that’ll be very sad. Also it’ll totally ruin your street cred.” Jack rolls his eyes.

“It’s Eric. He was talking to Shitty out near Lake Quad but he left before I could walk over and say hello.” Kent ruffles Jack’s hair and scoffs.

“Walk over and stare at him unblinkingly some more, you mean? Not sure you’re ready for words yet, Zimms.” Jack swats his hands away and attempts to fix his bangs.

“Ha ha.” He finishes up the last of his tenders before standing up and placing his plate on the designated pile above the trash can. “Now let’s go back to the Haus so you can tell me all about whatever new assignment you’ve got that I’m going to have to force you to complete on time.”

Kent grins and hops up, leaving his half-finished fries and trash where it was on the table and follows Jack out of the dining hall.

“What would I do without you, my man?” he asks as he throws an arm around Jack’s shoulders and pulls him in the direction of frat row.

* * *

“I messed up again.”

Jack’s voice rings out in the quiet of the bedroom. Kent picks his head up off his Bio II textbook, wincing as his cheek slowly peels away from where it was stuck to the page. He was totally reading that. Everybody needs breaks in between, to study more effectively. His phone was providing him with a much-needed mental reprieve in the form of hilarious vines. He watches as Jack falls face-down onto his bed, not even bothering to remove his backpack first.

“Hm, that bad huh? What’d you do, get so nervous you horked on his shoes?” Jack groans. “Shit, you didn’t really, did you?” Jack turns his head to glare at his roommate. “Come on, it’s not that implausible!” Kent tosses his phone to the side and rolls off his bed, walking over to the mirror on his desk to make sure he doesn’t have a giant textbook imprint on his cheek. He does. It’s bright red and will probably still be there when he and Jack head to Faber for practice this afternoon. Fantastic.

“How do you talk to people, Kenny?” Kent peeks over his shoulder and sees his friend staring dejectedly up at the ceiling. He shrugs.

“Natural charm I guess. Though to be fair this isn’t a new problem of yours. I think the only thing you said to me during the first two months of knowing each other was, ‘Nice pass, Parson.’ You’re not exactly Miss Congeniality, Zimms.” Jack sighs.

“You should just talk to him for me and get him to like me.” Jack says when Kent walks back over and hops onto Jack’s mattress. He shoves Jack’s calves aside in order to stretch out and lean against the opposite wall. Kent sticks out his lips in an exaggerated pout and taps his chin thoughtfully.

“You want me to seduce this guy…on your behalf? Like a sexy car salesman?” Jack kicks him in the side.

“No, not like a sexy car salesman. What the hell, Kenny?” Kent laughs.

“Hold on, there’s a joke in here somewhere about how well you ride.” He snickers and dodges another swift kick aimed at his kidney. After some brief tussling, Jack shoves Kent back to the other side of the bed and sighs.

“What if you helped me, uh, write to him?”

Kent pushes himself up onto his elbow and stares down at Jack with only a little judgement. “Like, love letters? That’s a bit old fashioned, even for someone like you.” Jack rolls his eyes and sighs.

“It’s better than what I’ve been doing so far. Scaring him to death.”

“That’s true...”

“Kenny.”

Kent sighs explosively and throws himself back down onto the bed, shoulder brushing Jack’s as they both stare at a dark shadow near the edge of their ceiling that could very well be anything from a blood stain or deadly black mold. “What do you want me to say here, Zimms? ‘Sure I’ll help you woo this figure skater you just met because I am obviously the paradigm of functional, effective romance?’ Like, I talk big shit but my track record is no longer than yours. I’m not exactly qualified for this position, here.”

Jack rolls onto his side, scooting impossibly closer to Kent, who feels his face begin to heat up. With a sudden sense of mortification, he realizes the pressure starting to build behind his eyes might be tears waiting to spill over. Right here, with Jack watching. He quickly wipes at his face and tries to cover it up with a sniff and a scratch at his nose to block himself from Jack’s field of vision. Jack calls him out on his bullshit – per usual.

“Kenny… you’re not unlovable.”

Fuck. _Fuck._ Kent deflates with an explosive exhale. He feels like he’s been punched in the fucking gut. “What the fuck, Jack? Jesus, you can’t just come out and say that shit, what the fuck? Goddamn.” He turns and buries his face in Jack’s shoulder.

Jack shoves his fingers into the strands of hair at the nape of Kent’s neck and scratches softly. “I’m not gonna leave you Kenny. No matter what happens. With this guy or with anyone. You’re mine-” his brow scrunches up “-That’s not the right… you’re my person. And I’m yours. We’ll always have each other, okay? That’s never going to change.” Kent nods but refuses to lift his head from where it’s steadily creating a damp spot on Jack’s heather gray T-shirt. “Now can you please stop feeling insecure and teach me how to be suave?”

Kent snorts. “In your fucking dreams, dude. Let’s not get those fucking expectations too high, okay?” He rolls back over and feels only a brief stab of embarrassment when he sees the tear stain he left on Jack. “Anyway, we’re gonna at least have this guy swooning by next Thursday. But now I’m exhausted, so leave me to snuggle my therapy animal in peace for the next two hours.”

As if sensing her summons, Kit leaps onto the bed and daintily walks over Jack’s face before snuggling up to Kent’s side. He pulls her closer and curls his body around her, getting comfortable.

Jack accepts the fact that Kent will be settling onto his bed for a nap and gets up to toss his tear-damp shirt in the laundry bin that only he seems to know exists in their room. “As long as you start studying for that exam you’ve got next week.” That makes Kent groan, the sound somewhat muffled from how he’s got his face shoved in the fur of his Maine Coon. “A deal’s a deal.” Jack insists.

“Mmf…fine”

“Thatta boy, Parser.”

“Fucking asshole.”


	2. Kent Meets Bitty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack attempts to speak to Eric. Kent meets Shitty's new frogs. Lardo just generally makes everyone's day cooler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW y'all stuck with me after the first chapter! Hope you enjoy the rest of it! It looks like I'll be able to publish a chapter each day (hopefully!)  
> Also, I just want to mention real quick in case you didn't see the tags: Bitty is in Lardo, Holster, and Ransom's year. They're all one year below Shitty, Jack, Kent, and Johnson. Lardo's nonbinary too! Uses she/they pronouns, in case you notice some gender neutral references when other characters mention Lardo.  
> Ok, I think that was all my notes for this chap! Enjoy!

Jack is on his way to his once-a-week history seminar when he spots a head of honey blonde hair in the periphery of his vision, and comes to a halt, right there on the sidewalk. He startles a girl with her eyes glued to a novel and walking too closely behind him. He scans the crowd exiting the Arts building and sees Eric, walking next to a smaller girl that Jack has seen Shitty talking to around campus often. He has enough awareness of his own social deficit to realize that standing and staring at someone across a college campus may be somewhat…creepy and invasive. He decides to take a detour from the path to his Women in America class (he usually gets there about 20 minutes early anyway, to get a good seat near the front) and starts walking towards – Larissa maybe? – and Eric.

He has a note he’d drafted multiple times over the last week for Eric in his bag right now. He’d been carrying it around with him for this specific moment, in case he ran into Eric again somewhere on campus. Eric and Larissa are coming down his sidewalk now. Jack feels his forehead break out in a light sweat. Relax, Zimmermann. You won trophies back in Juniors; you can handle this…infatuation. Eric gets nearer, and Jack’s palms become slippery as he tries to get a grip on the zipper of his bag. Eric’s turned towards Larissa, laughing at something she said with his head thrown back, eyes closed, and hair shining a bright halo in the midday sunshine.

Jack gets his bag unzipped and reaches in, dislodging carefully arranged notebooks and folders to find the envelope he knows is in there somewhere.

“Hey, Jack, right?”

Jack closes his fingers around the corner of a white envelope just as Shitty’s friend speaks. He looks up – or down – nervously as Larissa stops and glances up at him with a vague spark of recognition in her eyes. Eric comes to a stop as well and gazes up at Jack with a pair of warm brown eyes.

Jack just has to find a way to not screw this up.

“Euh, yeah.” Jack glances nervously towards Eric, who’s watching him with a bemused expression at this point. He crumples the corner of the letter in his anxious grip. “That’s me.” He attempts to make eye contact with Larissa. “Jack.” Please let someone spare him from this devastating social interaction.

“Cool dude, nice to see you. Tell Shitty I said ‘hey’ for me, alright?”

Jack nodded slowly. Larissa smiled ominously at him. Jack suddenly wishes he had just gone to class.

“Yeah, uh, I will. Have, uh.” Jack stares distractedly at Eric and he maybe either smiles like a normal human being or like he sort of wants to harvest all of Eric’s organs. He really needs to mentally prepare himself more before he’s ready for an actual conversation with the guy, this has all gone downhill so quickly. “Have a good day at class, and, in...general. Generally. I have to go now.”

Jack swings his backpack back onto his shoulders and flees as fast as his feet can carry him.

* * *

Bitty watches the captain of the Samwell Men’s Hockey Team run off like the devil was nipping at his heels and raises an eyebrow towards Lardo. “Is that boy alright?”

Lardo chuckles and nods her head. “Sort of. _Generally_.” She snickers. “Shitty mentioned he’s not great around strangers. The dude’s just awkward and shy.” Lardo watches as Jack disappears into a building across the quad. Lardo turns back to Bitty and adjusts the strap of her canvas bag over her shoulder. “Anyway, let’s get over to the Haus. Shitty said he was looking forward to your ‘orgasm-inducing’ apple pie for lunch today.”

Bitty rolls his eyes but huffs a laugh at classic Shitty Knight antics. “I hope Mr. Knight knows he can’t survive entirely off my occasional baked goods to get him through sophomore year. Besides, I think he just invites us over all the time because you’re going to Kenya next year and he’ll _miss you_.” Bitty sings the last part in a teasing schoolyard way. He’s rewarded with a hard punch to the shoulder.

“Whatever! Like you’re complaining about getting to spend every day surrounded by tall, fit, athletic hockey boys.” Lardo smirks as Bitty’s cheeks gain a rosy hue.

“Excuse you, Mx. Duan. Hockey _men._ ” Bitty responds with a haughty chin held high in the air and one hand pressed to his chest as if insulted. He and Lardo both break into giggles as they make their way off of Samwell’s main campus.

* * *

Kent is walking back to the Haus early from a cancelled Gen Ed class lecture (he forgot to check his university email this morning like an _idiot_ and apparently the professor had some family emergency she had to leave town for) when he runs into the short blond kid – Bitty? – and his impossibly shorter friend from almost crashing into them the other week.

The two are just walking up the wooden steps to the front door when it swings open and Shitty tackles them both, dangerously close to sending all three of them crashing down the stairs and onto the pavement below. “Lards! Bitty, my man!! Let me take those bags, I am ready to fucking explode in my pants, boys.”

This is somehow not the weirdest thing Kent has ever heard Shitty say, but it does make him extremely curious about the context. Luckily, Shitty spots him walking up behind the others when he pulls the blonde guy’s – Bitty’s – bag over his shoulder. “Kent motherfucking Parson! Thought you had English II this afternoon, brah!” He points his finger accusingly at Kent’s nose when the guy reaches the bottom of the steps. “You’re not skipping again right, man? Jack would kill you. _I…_ would be very disappointed.”

Kent chuckles and nods to acknowledge the two other people still on the stairs before answering Shitty. “Cancelled today, but I didn’t check my email before I walked all the way out there, like a huge dumbass of course.”

This statement makes Lards chuckle and Bitty wince sympathetically. Bitty pipes up, “I once sat through an entire General Psychology lecture before I got the notice that my history elective had moved classrooms that day to make room for a guest speaker. I didn’t want to be rude by leaving in the middle, so I just sat there and actually took notes.”

Kent bursts out a laugh. “No way, man, I would’ve hightailed it as soon as the PowerPoint started.” He gives him a look up and down. “You a frog?”

Shitty throws his arms over both Bitty and Lards’ shoulders. “Lardo and Bitty are indeed frogs and also my honorary children. They’re getting the tub juice recipe when I’m dead and gone.”

 _Lardo_ laughs and shoves Shitty off their shoulders and towards the front door of the Haus, intending to actually get them all inside at some point to finish this conversation. “You’ll be at grad school Shits, not six feet under. Now come on, Bitty promised us an orgasm, remember?”

Kent blinks. “Uh?”

Bitty turns bright red and frantically waves his hands in front of Kent as he stammers a reply. “Not like that! I’m a baker, I bake. Shitty likes my apple pie, and I promised to make one this afternoon.”

The group crosses the threshold into the Haus as Shitty proudly exclaims, “And it will in fact make you cream your pants after just one bite!” He dramatically turns to grab Kent by the shoulders, staring into his eyes with a solemn expression. “I would not lie about something this important.”

Lardo tosses her shoulder bag at Shitty, forcing him to release Kent from his firm grip to keep her stuff from crashing onto the filthy frat house floor. “Let the man try out Bitty’s goods for himself, Shits.” She says with a subtle nudge into Bitty’s side.

Kent watches with interest as Bitty flushes and nervously glances his way before turning back towards the direction of the kitchen. _Huh._

Shitty places Bitty and Lardo’s bags onto the nasty green couch before they all file into the kitchen. Lardo and Kent take a seat on the bar stools by the island counter while Bitty starts rifling through the fridge and cupboards, handing things to Shitty who starts placing them in some order on the countertops.

Kent turns to Lardo. “So, you guys do this often?”

Lardo nods and smiles in Shitty and Bitty’s direction. “Yeah, Shitty pretty much took Bits and I under his wing early on this year. We’ve been stopping by the Haus every once in a while. Met Holster and Ransom a few weeks back. We come over to play Mario Kart some nights.”

“The frog D-men team that started this year? I love those guys.” Kent exclaims. “Why haven’t I seen you or Bitty around before?”

Bitty flicks a small cloud of flour in Shitty’s direction and turns to answer Kent’s question. “Shitty tells us you’re a habitual procrastinator and can usually be found holed up in your room while Jack supervises your study habits when y’all aren’t at the rink the other ninety percent of every day.”

Kent feels a little guilty at that. He doesn’t want Shitty and the team to think he’s been ignoring them. He and Jack can get sucked into their own orbit often, too dependent on each other and trapped in their own world too much of the time. “Sorry Shits, I forgot how much fucking work college would be.”

Shitty rushes over to trap Kent and Lardo in a loving bear hug as Bitty starts rolling out dough. “Hey broski, don’t get sappy on me now! It’s the start of the school year, you’ll get your shit together in a month, tops, and we can get back to our weekly movie/cuddle nights.”

Lardo laughs. “Are these the infamous underwear snuggling nights I’ve heard horror stories about?”

“My naked cuddling is a _gift_ and my lovely Hausmates know that they require _enthusiastic consent_ or a perfectly clothed movie marathon is available at a moment’s notice,” Shitty scoffs.

Bitty snaps his fingers at Shitty and points to a stack of apples on the countertop. “Mr. Knight, I believe you promised to head apple-dicing duty today.” Shitty salutes and gets to work. “I’ll never understand hockey frat culture.” Bitty sighs to himself, amused.

“Well, you’re gonna have to get used to it, Mr. Athletic Scholarship” Lardo shoots back.

That catches Kent’s attention. “Athletic, huh? What do you-” He’s interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming open and Holster and Ransom stop through the Haus to grin at everyone in the kitchen.

“Bitty’s here!!” Both men cheer and high five each other. “What’s for lunch, Bits?” Holster asks.

Ransom turns to Kent. “Yo, Parson! In the mood for some Kart, or do you have a fuckton of homework due before the game this week?”

Kent goes through his mental checklist of the upcoming week. Jack made sure he finished his paper early for once, so he should only have one quiz coming up in a few days, but he actually likes that class, so he should be able to get his ass in gear and work some study time into his future. “I think I could slip that into my busy schedule.

Ransom grins dangerously. “It’s so fucking _on_ , my dude.” Holster gets his hand smacked with a rolling pin as Bitty keeps him from messing up the lattice crust he’s carefully putting together. “ _Shit!_ Sorry, Bits…”

Bitty huffs and pats Holster’s hand apologetically. “I think y’all better power up the Wii and get the hell outta my kitchen before someone gets another piece of my mind.” The gang scatters into the living room to avoid Bitty’s ire and the risk of not getting a slice of pie for lunch.

* * *

The boys (Lardo included) are deep in a round on Tick Tock Clock when Bitty walks out with two sliced pies – apple and blueberry. “Kent, I didn’t get the chance to ask – any food allergies?”

Kent tilts his body into Holster’s side as Daisy drifts into a boost on screen. “Nope! Should be good. If I die, at least it’ll have been from what smells like a pretty fucking delicious pie.”

Bitty rolls his eyes and slides the pies onto the small coffee table in front of the couch.

Shitty hits pause and the game immediately freezes. “Pie time, fuckers!” he screams. Everyone tosses their controllers and circles the pies like a pack of starving hyenas.

“Woah, woah, slow down you cretin! I have forks, for Pete’s sake.” Bitty passes everyone a piece of cutlery and some napkins while the team starts digging into the baked goods. A chime from a cell phone rings out and Shitty wiggles his cleaner hand into a nearby couch cushion to check his incoming text messages.

“Jack sent a message a bit ago saying he’s heading back to the Haus and,” Shitty turns to Bitty. “Johnson smells the pie from his room and wants to know if you’ll ‘be his favorite character and bring him a slice?’ Bits.”

Bitty rolls his eyes fondly at Johnson’s usual weird behavior and steals a slice of blueberry before the rest of the team devours it. He starts up the stairs just as the front door cracks open and Jack is greeted by a hoard of screaming, pie-covered teammates fighting over who gets the final slice of – is that apple pie? – sitting on the coffee table.

Shitty notices him standing there as Ransom’s hand smacks into his face to avoid a forcible piggyback tackle. “Jacky boy!! You came just in time! Boys, fair’s fair. Zimmermann should get the last slice of orgasm-inducing pie.”

Kent tilts his head upside down from where he’s got Lardo in a mild headlock. “Zimms, I will pay you a thousand dollars for that slice of pie.”

This sets Ransom, Holster, and Lardo off on another round of shouting. Shitty claps twice to silence the group. “Jack, take your spoils of war and hide in your room until it is safely consumed. It’s a battlefield out here.” Shitty hands Jack the pie tin holding the last slice and smacks his ass when Jack walks towards the stairs on auto-pilot.

“I’m not quite sure what’s going on here, but I’ll be back down after I finish copying over my notes from today’s lecture.” Jack states as he hikes his backpack further onto his shoulder and adjusts his grip on the pie. “Uh, thanks for this Shitty. Hey, Larissa. Ransom. Holster,” He spares a parting nod for each of them and heads up towards the bedroom he shares with Kent.

Everyone releases each other from their various wrestling holds and decides at once to get back to the video game. They finish a couple races before Bitty finally comes back down and grabs his bag from the side of the couch. “Alright, boys, I gotta head back to my dorm room before it gets dark out. Thank you for your…enthusiastic response to my pie.” He makes eye contact with Kent as Shitty finally crosses the finish line and ends the round. “Kent, it was lovely to meet you.” Kent can’t help but feel a slight thrill as he watches color rise up in Bitty’s cheeks. “Hope you’re around the next time Lardo and I visit.”

Kent grins and runs a hand through his curls to shake off some nervous energy. “Yeah, ‘course. Great to meet you too, man. See you later.” Bitty nods and pats everyone on the head and shoulders as he passes through the living room to get back to the front door.

A chorus of “Bye, Bits!” “See ya later, Bitty!” “Thanks for the pie, bro!” “I’ll see you in Stats tomorrow, man” follow Bitty as he makes his way out of the hockey frat Haus and back to his own room to get started on his procrastinated homework for the night.

* * *

Kent walks into his and Jack’s room after he and the guys finish a few more rounds of Mario Kart and decide to wrap it up for the night. Jack is sitting at the desk, transcribing his handwritten notes onto his laptop. He says writing them down during the lecture helps him memorize them and typing them back onto the computer helps him understand the concepts they covered that day. Kent, personally, is a firm believer in “winging it,” but that’s why Jack is a solid letter grade and a half above him.

“Have fun down there?” Jack asks when he hears the door open. Kent smiles and bends down to scoop up Kit, who came out of her bed to greet him.

“Yeah, we hung out with Shitty’s adopted frogs. Person named Lardo and a guy named Bitty. Bitty was the one who baked the pie.” Kent points to the glaringly empty pie tin with a fork sitting inside it that was very clearly licked clean.

Jacks smiles softly as he types. “Yeah, it was really good. I’ll have to actually thank this ‘Bitty’ next time I see him.”

Kent hops up onto his bed and lets Kit settle onto her usual perch by his pillow. “He was a cool guy. Blond, cute, definitely your type,” He winks over at Jack, who spares him a dry glance before continuing his note transcription. “Right, right, sorry, you’re already spoken for, aren’t you? How are things going with _Eric?_ ” Kent asks with a shit-eating grin, heaving himself onto his forearms to make meaningful eye contact with Jack through the reflection of the mirror on their desk. “Have you given him your letter yet?”

This makes Jack deflate. His typing abruptly stops as he hunches over in defeat. “…No. I chickened out. He was walking with his friend and he was laughing and he just looked so…I got overwhelmed. I panicked and ran off.” Jack hides his face in his hands and heaves a huge sigh.

Kent sits up and holds out his hand. “Alright, hand it over.” Jack turns to look at him nervously. “The letter, dumbass, hand it over. Come on, I promise I’m not gonna read it.” Jack reaches into his backpack by the foot of the desk. Kent leans forward and snags it from his hand. “Alright, I’m gonna deliver this sucker to the guy for you, since you’re too chickenshit to get this done on your own.”

Jack frowns and hurriedly grabs the letter back from Kent. “No, no, I can find a way. I’ll just… I’ll stick it in his mailbox or something.”

Kent grins. “That’s incredible. Truly, an incredible idea, Zimms.” He rolls his eyes fondly. “Hand-written letters, snail mail. This is as old-timey a courtship I could have imagined for you.” He hops up from his bed and grabs his towel from where it was hanging on one of the posts. “Anyway, good luck with all that, it’s time for me to wash off the shame of my 4th place defeat during Haus game night tonight. See ya in a bit!” Kent heads into the bathroom as Jack carefully flattens the crinkles out of the edge of the letter and places it gingerly back into his backpack.

 _Tomorrow,_ he thinks. _Tomorrow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have screenshot every comment I received for this fic so far, and I just stare at them and grin. Thank you all who left kudos and those who took the time to leave a comment! It means the world to me!!


	3. A Note of Yearning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's attempting courtship, Kent's getting a crush, Lardo's putting the pieces together, and Shitty's just having a good time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guess who forgot to actually post a chapter last night! Thanks for being patient with me y'all! And WHOO BOY, has everyone been reading the other Heartbreak Fest fics as they get revealed? I think my idea of angst for this fic has been severely understated lmao. Them submissions have been PAINFUL!! Great work everybody!!  
> Anyway, please enjoy the next chapter of Pining for Panache! Your comments have been brightening my entire day!!! Thank you so much!

Shitty looks a bit bemused when Jack asks for Eric’s last name the following morning as they walk to their shared lecture class. “Eric? Uh, Bittle. Why’re you asking man?”

Jack tugs on the sleeve of his shirt nervously. “I just, uh.” He clears his throat. “I’m curious, is all. You know him well, right?”

Shitty doesn’t seem very satisfied with that answer. “You should’ve come down and joined us for game night yesterday, man.”

Jack blinks at that non-sequitur. “…Maybe next time” he says blankly. Grateful for the subject change anyway, he asks Shitty what place he got.

“Fuckin 6th, brah! I’m beating my personal best lately!” Shitty tosses his arm excitedly around Jack’s shoulders as they walk up the steps of the building to their next class.

Jack sets a mental reminder to drop by the freshman mail center after class when Shitty leaves for his usual meet-up with Larissa at the arts complex.

* * *

The delivery is a success. The kind woman at the desk showed him how to slip it directly into Bittle’s mailbox because he was sending it inter-campus. Jack is so proud of himself for finally accomplishing something in his plan to woo Bittle, he decides to join the rest of his Hausmates for a _30 Rock_ marathon in the living room that afternoon. Ransom and Holster comment on his rare display of cheerfulness.

Johnson leans over on the couch and pats his shoulder with a proud grin. “You’ll get there, buddy.” Jack has no idea if or how Johnson would even know what’s going on, but he takes the statement to heart all the same.

Kent gets home later and instantly catches on to Jack’s good mood. He raises some significant eyebrows in Jack’s direction, who blushes a bit but nods slightly to confirm Kent’s suspicions. Kent punches him not-so-lightly in the side with a shit-eating grin stretching his face. “Jack Zimmermann!” The rest of the boys turn to them with curious expressions, but Jack waves them off.

The smile stays on his face for the rest of the night.

* * *

Kent doesn’t see Bitty again until the following day, when they bump into each other as Kent’s getting out of another Gen Ed course. He looks great, like he’s in a good mood and the rest of the world is going to follow his example. Kent is drawn into that sunshine smile very willingly. “Bitty!” He yells to get the boy’s attention before he walks out of sight.

Bitty turns around to see who called out, and grins when he sees Kent. It sends something light and warm through Kent’s guts. No one is ever that happy to see him. Well, maybe Kit, but usually when it’s dinner time. The point is, it’s a very welcome change of pace, and Kent’s glad it’s Bitty who’s so happy to see him.

“Kent! What are you up to? Going or coming to a class?” Bitty asks as he walks up to where Kent is standing in front of the sciences building.

“Luckily for me, I’m going. What about you?” Kent notices Bitty’s lack of backpack or textbooks. “Not sure what your professors would say if you showed up without even a pencil on hand.”

Bitty blushes and waves his hand. “I’m a good student, promise. I was headed to the East campus for some lunch, the communal kitchen area was being overthrown by a pack of giggling volleyball girls throwing a birthday party and I didn’t think their cupcakes were going to turn out so well. I couldn’t bear to watch.”

Kent seizes this golden opportunity. “I was just about to head out to Annie’s, you wanna get a coffee or something?”

Bitty stares with widening eyes and a growing flush. “You- you want.” He runs his fingers over a wild cowlick at the crown of his head. “With m- to go with me?” The poor guy is turning red as a cherry tomato. Kent suddenly finds this particular shade of red alarmingly cute.

“Yeah Bitty, it’s coffee. I won’t bite.” He winks. “Without explicit consent of course.”

“I’m gay!” Bitty blurts out in a panic. Frantically, he turns around to see if anyone is paying any mind to his exclamation, but luckily the few stragglers still walking to and from class are in too big of a hurry to have paid them any mind.

Kent blinks, startled by Bitty’s outburst. “Cool,” he deadpans. “I’m bi? I don’t think the coffee will mind the sexuality of whoever drinks it.” He offers Bitty a comforting smile. “But thanks for sharing with me.”

Bitty flaps his hands anxiously. “I just didn’t want – some guys are fine until – I wanted to let you know that – well I mean.” Bitty heaves in a breath. “I just didn’t know if you were actually hitting on me or if this was gonna turn into one of those ‘Fuck no, did you think I would really come onto a dude?’ type of situations, so I just wanted to be…up front about it…” Bitty sighs and shoves his hands deep into the pocket of his shorts.

Kent feels such a pang of sympathy for this kid. Probably wasn’t out before college. Having to deal with college-frat jackasses pulling a ‘no homo’ everywhere he looked. Kent feels such a surge of protectiveness for the kid. He remembers dealing with his own brand of constant vigilance back when he and Zimms were in Juniors together. College was definitely good for them both.

“Nah man, I really just wanna know if you’d like to get coffee with me. Also possibly a scone? Or a brownie. Or, oh shit, they got those paninis over there don’t they? With the fresh basil and shit? Hmm.”

Bitty laughs, which is secretly exactly what Kent was aiming for. “That sounds great.” They head towards the direction of Annie’s as Bitty glances shyly up at him. “Thanks, Kent.”

Kent smiles. “Of course, Bitty, anytime.”

* * *

Bitty and Kent are leaving a wonderful lunch at Annie’s together when they spot Lardo hauling a huge canvas bag a little ways down the sidewalk. Kent and Bitty yell for her attention and she almost takes out two other students when her bag swings as she turns. “Parson! Bitty! I was taking this painting down to the arts complex, I’ll have to catch up with you two later.” She looks over at Bitty and nudges him slyly in the side. “Any leads on the letter, Bits?” she asks with a smirk.

Bitty casts an anxious glance to Kent, who blinks, confused, before shushing Lardo. She cackles before saying her farewells and heading off once more. “Let me know if you get any leads!”

Kent turns to Bitty. “What was that about?” He asks, intrigued.

Bitty waves him off with a small smile. “Nothing, don’t worry about it. Lardo’s teasing me.” He switches the subject quickly enough, and he and Kent catch up and chat until they part ways at the path to the freshman dorms.

* * *

Kent doesn’t think much more about it until the next day when he and Jack are hanging out in their room after the team’s morning hockey practice. “Any kind of response from your letter yet, Zimmy dear?” Kent teases.

Jack pauses his reading to squint at Kent, as if trying to remember what he could be referring to. He slams his book closed with a jarring noise that sends Kit scurrying under Kent’s bed.

“I forgot to sign my name.” Jack mumbles with dread.

Kent can’t decide to laugh or cry. “What do you mean, you didn’t sign your name? You didn’t put your name anywhere on the confession letter you wrote for the guy you like?” He asks incredulously.

Jack groans and presses the book to his blushing face with both hands. “I thought I was going to give it to him in person, I didn’t write my name anywhere on it. The envelope just had his name.”

Kent switches over to Jack’s bed and pats his back in sympathy. “Wow, bro, you are royally bad at this, aren’t you?” He thinks briefly of Lardo’s comment to Bitty earlier, but is jarred from it as Jack lets out a truly pitiful groan. “Don’t worry big guy, we’re gonna work through this.” He gives Jack’s back another pat and welcomes Kit back up onto the bed when she decides it’s safe to come out again.

Jack sighs. “Maybe the anonymous approach is best, until I can actually say a few words to his face?”

Kent gives an encouraging smile. “Thatta boy! Always looking to the bright side. And hey, the secret admirer thing is _very_ in style.” He shrugs. “Well, probably.” He shakes his head and nudges Jack encouragingly when the guy finally pulls the book away from his face and makes eye contact. “Guess we’ll find out!”

Jack punches him in the shoulder and gets back to his book.

* * *

As the semester drags on, Jack continues to slip notes and letters into Bittle’s mailbox. Kent continues to befriend Bitty and Lardo and make an effort to spend more time with his Hausmates instead of solely with Jack or his procrastinated schoolwork. Of course, this means Kent has to start making an effort to actually get his schoolwork done before the very last minute, so sometimes there are hitches and bumps.

Jack tries to come out of his hockey robot shell and get to know Ransom and Holster and bond with his teammates. They do moderately well during the hockey season. It doesn’t look like they’ll quite make it to the Frozen Four this year, which has Jack’s teeth on edge more often than not, but he vows to get better at not taking it out on his teammates – or himself. Kent usually helps when he’s not doing so great at that second part.

Jack hears plenty of stories about this elusive “Bitty” he keeps just missing when the boy visits the Haus. Kent sings his praises constantly, so Jack figures he must be a pretty great guy. Kent may be an expert at bad decisions sometimes, but he seems to be a decent judge of character, so Jack trusts this guy with his team. All he has to do is meet him. He’s become good friends with Shitty’s other frog – _Lardo, not Larissa –_ though she states that Jack is the only person who can call her that without her minding.

Winter break comes up quicker than anyone seemed to be expecting it, and pretty soon Jack and Kent are packing up for a trip back to Jack’s home in Montreal, and then to New York for the second half of break to spend at Kent’s mom’s house with her and his little sister. Jack misses the comfort of his parents. Their relationship has had it’s rough twists and turns: Jack’s struggle with alcohol and his anxiety meds coming out soon before the draft with Kent confessing that he couldn’t help Jack with his problems without pleading for professional help, his and Kent’s withdrawal from the draft – and addiction – and then making the decision to take some time off from professional hockey altogether.

College has been good for Jack and Kent. Kent wasn’t lying to himself when he thought that before, with Bitty. They needed space to figure out things for themselves and find out how to function while they were apart. They became too wrapped up in each other’s worlds that their dependence was a noose around their entire relationship. They had to learn to be separate people.

Jack is finally ready to be grateful that Kent went to his parents for help. He wasn’t sure how long he could’ve kept going like he was before the draft. He doesn’t like to think about the possibilities of what could’ve happened had Kent not finally called out for help.

Kent mentions Jack’s crush on a short blonde kid back at school, and Jack’s parents are an embarrassing level of thrilled about the idea. Bob Zimmermann glances curiously between Jack and Kent, as if wanting to ask about their own relationship status, but not wanting to ruin the energy in the room to get his answers. Jack’s not even sure what Kent would say to that kind of question. He’s not entirely sure how he would answer it himself.

They spend each night that week sharing Jack’s childhood bedroom. Kent made a nest of pillows and blankets on the floor next to Jack’s bed just like they used to do when Kent was billeting with them. They hadn’t wanted to stop talking through the night, so Kent pulled the comforter from the guest bedroom into Jack’s room and parked himself on the floor for the rest of the night.

Now they spend the hours whispering their doubts into the dark ceiling. Will they ever be able to fight their way back into the level of professional hockey? Will any team be willing to take a chance on both of them? Will Jack be able to be happy with Eric if he ever does end up revealing himself as the sender of the letters? If Kent decides to take a chance on the way things are building with Bitty, will they be able to proudly be together in the spotlight of professional hockey? Will the two of them ever drift apart, drawn away by separate teams or distance or the pursuit of romantic relationships?

Only time will be able to tell.

* * *

Their time in New York is wonderful, as always. Jack dotes on Mrs. Parson and Carrie, her daughter. Kent’s little sister has always been a pride and joy of Kent’s life. Dropping out of the draft really took a toll on his financial prospects, and Jack knows he’s been working hard to get back to being able to send some support home to his family. Jack thinks Kent wants to declare some major in accounting, so he has an actual career to rely on when hockey is no longer (or maybe already isn’t) a possibility.

“Hey Carebear!” Kent crashes into a hug with his sister as he and Jack are welcomed in by Kent’s mom. “How’s my favorite girl?” Kent holds his sister close as she starts gushing about the friends she’s been making in school this year and asking him all sorts of questions about college life.

“How’s that _boy_ you’ve been hanging out with, Kenny?” Carrie asks, smirking at her brother as everyone sits down at the table for dinner that night.

Kent reaches over and ruffles her blonde curls, making her gasp in outrage. “Bitty’s fine, he sends his regards.” Kent gets a mischievous look on his face. “But really you should be asking _Jack_ about his love life at college this year,” he states with a sly grin.

Catherine Parson smiles serenely, “Kent says you’ve been trying to ask out a figure skater?”

Jack swallows his spaghetti wrong and fights a blush. Carrie grins like she won a prize. “Jack! Are you _seeing anyone_ at school?” She looks entirely too pleased at Jack’s discomfort than any fifteen-year-old should.

“Uh, well Kent’s been trying to help me work up the courage for it, yeah.” Jack mumbles, embarrassed.

Kent turns to Carrie and loudly whispers, “I’ve been playing delivery boy for all his sappy love notes- _ack!_ ” He’s cut off by a swift punch from Jack to his bicep. The rest of the table dissolves into giggles.

The conversation soon changes to topics of their majors. Catherine asks if they’ve decided on what to declare now that they’re getting ready to start the Spring semester of their sophomore years. Jack talks briefly about his history major, and the classes he’s signed up for that coming Spring.

Kent waffles between business or accounting. Like Jack suspects, he wants something to rely on besides hockey if that doesn’t turn out as well as he hopes it will.

Jack wishes he could tell Kent that he’ll always be around to support him – no matter what form that may take. But Kent is too proud an individual to ‘take advantage’ of his friendship with Jack like that, even if Jack would be absolutely willing to help. It’s a conversation they’ve had a few times over the years, and especially after what would’ve been their draft. All Jack can do is stay by his friend’s side.

For all of time, if he’ll let him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! All the comments I've gotten for this fic have just made me want to keep posting more for this fandom!! Y'all are so sweet!!


	4. The Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kent puts the pieces together and he and Jack need to talk

The return to Samwell is a greatly anticipated occasion. Lardo drives back together with Shitty but neither of them will answer to any of the team’s cloying chirps with anything more than a shy grin. Ransom and Holster unpack their stuff into their shared freshman dorm but quickly make their way over to the Haus to join in the welcome back festivities. Johnson suggests a back to school kegster which everybody agrees to wholeheartedly.

Jack hatches a new plan in his quest to woo Eric. He takes out his phone and opens a search engine while Kent high-fives Johnson and gets to work planning the festivities with Shitty.

Life is going great.

* * *

Things are going pretty weird for Eric Richard Bittle. The semester started off on a great note. He got into that mandatory elective class he really needed that was only available during the spring semester. He’s been hanging out with Kent, Lardo, Shitty, and the rest of the Samwell men’s hockey team in his spare time – save for their elusive captain Jack, who Bitty only manages to run into while passing each other on campus or in the line at Annie’s, and he’s always very…not rude, per say? But…definitely odd.

Bitty supposes it’s charming – mostly because he looks like he’s a handsome Canadian god carved out of marble – but also there’s an earnestness to the way he always tries to say hello to Bitty before scurrying off that makes Bitty think he’s secretly a friendly person at heart. The rest of the team certainly tries to assure him that Jack is just a tough shell to crack, but he’s a good guy on the inside.

His figure skating is going swimmingly, and Katya has been chatting with him over Skype to praise how his program seems to be coming along. He’ll get to go to States again, for certain. He’s feeling great and booking some extra time at the rink as often as he can between his studies and his occasional afternoons spent with the hockey team – who have their own practices and games to get to regularly.

Bitty was pleased as punch to discover his ‘secret admirer’ continued their messages and gifts when the semester started back up again. Kind words of praise and encouragement greeted him every other week or so. Bitty stashed them all safely in one of his desk drawers. He missed them when he went back to Georgia for the break. At Samwell, it’s safer to covet them as he looks over all the messages he’s received from this mystery person. Bitty’s grateful to learn in one of the earlier letters that the admirer is in fact a man. He can’t imagine the embarrassingly awkward situation he would’ve been put into if he discovered the author of the letters wasn’t exactly someone he was interested in pursuing romantically. Still, this has been going on for such a time now that Bitty wonders if this person will eventually gain the courage to write something that hints more at his identity. 

Bitty thinks this person is a fellow skater, because he seems familiar enough with the feel of the ice beneath his feet, going on about how he envies Bitty’s grace in the rink, his speed and fluidity that this admirer does not possess. He does mention a kinship in feeling home on the ice, though. A freeing feeling that only comes with the slight sting of the cold and the glide of your skates across the rink. Bitty hoped he would be able to contact this admirer somehow during the spring semester. At least leave him a phone number! The letters were charming at first, but really. Bitty has a very successful vlog, he can appreciate the advances technology has provided in terms of communication and courtship.

Things come to a head on Valentine’s Day, when Bitty gets summoned down to the mail center to pick up no less than _ten dozen_ bouquets of roses?! This is absolutely crazy! Insane! Outrageous! Bitty can’t even comprehend the _cost_ of all these flowers alone! Never mind the implications! Bitty thinks he needs to sit down. The kind woman at the mailroom desk is positively glowing. She offers a cart and two of her student employees to help Bitty get them all back to his dorm room. He’s not sure what to do besides accept. He’ll have to figure out what to do with all of these sooner or later.

* * *

“Bits, _holy shit!_ ”

Shitty and Lardo are in the living room watching Animal Planet when Bitty marches into the Haus carrying five dozen of the roses he received earlier that day. Ransom and Holster hear the commotion from the kitchen and join them.

“Oh shit!!” They exclaim in unison as their eyes land on the flowers in Bitty’s arms. “Itty Bitty got _mad_ game, brah!” Holster and Random high five.

“Jesus, Bitty why haven’t you told us about this incredibly generous – and apparently loaded – boyfriend of yours, huh?” Ransom playfully nudges Bitty’s shoulder but helps take a couple of the bunches from his arms.

Bitty blushes and stammers, “Because I don’t have one!” He glances at Lardo, who gives him an encouraging nod, and explains, “I’ve had this secret admirer since the middle of fall semester, and this is by _far_ the most wild overture I have received so far.” Bitty looks down and lets out a shy smile. “It’s kind of…flattering.”

Shitty pulls Bitty into a headlock. “My favorite frog, capturing the hearts of secret admirers. I’m so goddamn proud right now, I could cry.”

Bitty lets out an indignant squawk and struggles to pull away from Shitty’s embrace. “Unhand me or you won’t get any of the flowers I brought to share!”

The boys stop their chatter all at once. Holster snatches a bouquet from Ransom’s arms. “These are for us, bro?”

Bitty laughs. “Well, yeah! What am I gonna do with ten dozen roses? I doubt they’ll even fit in my dorm room. I thought I could share them with my friends instead.”

Bitty instantly finds himself surrounded by the entire group, hugging him close and squishing some petals in the process, surely.

“You’re a real one, man” Lardo takes a couple bunches out of Bitty’s arms as they all break the group hug.

Shitty grabs another one and surreptitiously wipes a tear from the corner of his eye. “This is the best Valentine’s Day this Haus has ever seen, brah!”

Johnson comes home from class and gratefully takes a bundle when Bitty offers it to him. Holster invites him to join them all for Mario Kart after they collect all the vases and jugs they can find to hold the roses. Johnson smiles but declines, “I think you all are going to have an exciting time tonight, but I’ve got a quiz to study for. Thanks for the flowers, Bitty!” He raises his hand in a wave and carries his bundle of roses upstairs to disappear into his room.

“Man that guy is weird sometimes.” Lardo mutters to Ransom as she fills an empty beer bottle with water for a couple roses to be stuffed into. Ransom agrees with a firm, “Mm-hm.”

After they’ve placed a bottle or pitcher full of roses around every square inch of the Haus living room and kitchen, the team (plus Bitty and Lardo) settles onto the couch and floor for a few rounds of Mario Kart.

The door opens just as Toad is crossing the finish line to a chorus of cheers and boos

“Bits, what the fuck! No one has this much raw Mario Kart talent!” Holster yells, as his Wario is struck by a red shell from Waluigi speeding up behind him. Ransom cheerfully tells him to ‘suck it.’

Yoshi claims second place, Lardo exchanging a satisfied fist bump with Bitty, as they were on the same team.

Daisy is trailing behind in eighth place, which is par the course for Shitty’s usual Mario Kart standings.

Kent takes in the excitement of Mario Kart night and tosses his backpack down by the door. “Sweet! Kart party!” He hops onto the arm of the couch closest to Bitty and snags Shitty’s controller, helping him cinch fifth place before the Bowser NPC can embarrass him any further. He takes stock of his surroundings as the race credits are rolling across the screen. “Hey, uh, you guys decide to go all out for V Day this year?”

All eyes land on a steadily blushing Bitty. Lardo grins at Kent and explains. “Bitty is the source of today’s lovely Haus décor. His little secret admirer situation has really hit new heights.”

The blood drains out of Kent’s face. “Secret…admirer?” He stares helplessly as Bitty ducks his head.

“I’ve been getting notes and stuff from,” he meets Kent’s gaze before promptly fiddling with the controller in his hands. “From an anonymous person since the middle of last semester. He sent me a truly reprehensible number of roses today,” he frowns and waves his hands nervously, second-guessing his word choice. “Not that it wasn’t really thoughtful or anything!” He exclaims to Kent, defensively, “It’s just way too many flowers for me to keep in my dorm. I decided to share some of them with y’all here at the Haus.”

Kent’s brain is still stuck on the mental blue screen it’s been projecting since Bitty first mentioned the secret admirer thing. His immediate reaction is denial. These can’t be the secret admirer messages that Jack has been sending. That’s a completely different…

“Uh, wow. This guy must be really serious about you. Have you met him yet?” He asks blandly.

Bitty searches Kent’s face for something a moment before he shakes his head. “No, all I know is that he’s a guy and he probably skates? But not much else besides that.” He smiles off into the distance for a second. “He’s kind. I can tell.”

Kent feels like he’s falling backwards through the ice into a frozen lake. “That’s – that’s great, Bitty, wow.” He places a careful hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’m so happy for you.”

Shitty interrupts the moment with a shout, “Alright bitches, I’ve got one more race in me before I have to work on my substantive law classwork. Parse, you in or out this round?”

Kent decides to deal with his world-altering crisis later. “I’m in.”

* * *

Jack is walking back to the Haus that night after spending the past few hours finishing his history paper in the library when he gets a text from Kent.

_We have to talk when you get back_

It sets Jack’s anxiety alight, which is probably why it’s immediately followed up with a second text. Then a third.

_Ok sorry I shouldn’t have said it like that but we do have to talk about something_

_It’s not anything bad and it won’t affect our friendship I swear_

Jack sends back a quick confirmation and slides his phone into his pocket, continuing his path from campus.

His worry and anxiety amplify a bit when he sees Kent sitting outside on the steps leading up to the Haus. Whatever Kent wanted to talk about…it doesn’t look good.

Kent glances up from his phone and hops up to meet him half-way down the driveway to the Haus. “Okay, before you start your freak-out spiral I feel like I should again mention that this won’t affect us in any way and you and I are forever the greatest bros in the history of bro…brodom. Broships?” Kent shakes his head. “We’re good, Zimms, okay?”

Jack nods his head slowly, still fearing the worst. Someone has a terminal disease. Are his parents alright? When was the last time he spoke to maman?

Kent grips his arm, comfortingly. “I think we might be crushing on the same guy,” he blurts.

Jack blinks as his train of anxiety abruptly comes to a screeching halt. “The same-?” He wracks his brain trying to remember if there was ever a time that Kent was with him when he bumped into Eric on campus. “But what about, uh, Bitty? Your frog?”

Kent chuckles nervously. “Did Shitty tell you Eric’s last name?”

“Uh,” Jack’s eyes roll up in memory. “Bittle?” He snaps his gaze back to Kent’s. “Eric Bittle.”

Kent nods once, grimly. “Bitty.”

Jack groans. “What? How did – this can’t.”

Kent chuckles wryly and collapses onto the grass. He pats the spot next to him firmly until Jack joins him on the ground. “It’s amazing how you’ve never actually met Bitty yet this year, even though he’s over at the Haus to bake and play video games two or three times a week.”

Jack rests his arms on his knees and gazes off into the dimming light of the sun setting over the lacrosse frat house. “Lots of time in the library. Can’t exactly get much work done in a frat house full of guys yelling at episodes of _Dogs 101_ every day.”

“That Husky was fucking _adorable_ and you know it!” Kent bumps into Jack’s shoulder and grins. He meets Jack’s eyes for a moment and sighs. “Listen, Zimms,” he starts hesitantly, “Say the word and I’ll…I’ll back off Bitty, okay? You saw him first anyway.” He looks up as the last of the sun’s rays disappear and they find themselves surrounded by that weightless feeling of dusk. “I’m not looking to make Bitty choose or anything petty like that. Besides, I’ve never seen you so happy as you’ve been this year, writing to him.”

Jack hides his face in Kent’s shoulder and grips his knees tighter. “I could say the same to you, Kenny. You’ve been trying to get me to meet him forever.” He chuckles softly. “Should’ve taken you up on that way earlier, huh?”

Kent scoffs. “Would’ve saved us some _Lifetime_ special bullshit, yeah.” He runs a hand through his curls and rolls the tenseness out of his shoulders. “Augh, this romantic turmoil shit is giving me a headache. Wanna go watch the history channel?”

Jack is amazed at the way Kent’s emotional depth can switch wildly at the drop of a hat. He rolls his eyes fondly but follows Kent when he stands and starts brushing strands of grass from his jeans. They both turn as Shitty sticks his head out the front door.

“Hey Jacko! Bitty left some scones for you in the oven if you were interested. He wouldn’t let us touch them before you got back from class under threat of suspended pastry privileges.”

Jack and Kent glance at each other and share a laugh. Jack nods at Shitty and slaps him on the shoulder as they follow him into the Haus. “Thanks, Shits, I’ll grab those and save you from the temptation.” Shitty slaps his ass and pulls Kent into a friendly headlock when they all make it through the door. Jack decides to graciously share his scones with the two boys. The three of them hover over the kitchen counter, spilling crumbs into the sink and onto the floor that has honestly seen worse messes in the past and is sure to see more in the future.

Jack watches Kent shovel a second scone into his mouth and thinks quietly to himself that if anyone else in the world was going to share a crush on Eric, he’s secretly glad it’s Kent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep those comments coming!! I LOVE waking up to kudos and comment emails from Ao3 :)  
> I love every single person who took the time to read this fic!!


	5. The Reveal (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitty finds out! Kent needs to talk with Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost at the end here, folks! I just wanted to take a moment and sincerely thank everyone who gave this fic a read and who've been leaving me lovely comments during the journey!

Bitty sits in the locker room at Faber and unlaces his skates. He changes out of his practice sweats in order to hit the showers and rinse off before his afternoon class. He really needs to focus during his lecture today, his notes were illegible last week (not that he used them to study much anyway) and he needs to get a good grade on his upcoming quiz to keep that B for his athletic scholarship.

He gets a text from his mama as he’s leaving the rink.

_You should be getting your care package from Moomaw and I today! Check the mail center when you get a chance please, Dicky. And break a leg on the ice today!!_

Bitty smiles fondly at his mother’s enthusiasm and lets her know he just finished up his practice at the rink and he’s heading back to his dorm before his Humanities elective, so he’ll check the mail center when he gets out of lecture. He slides his phone into the back pocket of his shorts and heads out of Faber and towards the direction of the freshman dorms.

* * *

Jack and Kent are walking to their shared lecture hall when Jack decides to broach the subject of their…situation. “Would you mind…delivering a letter to Eric – uh, Bitty – um.” Jack scratches the back of his head and tries to meet Kent’s eyes. “Can you take this note to Bittle’s mailbox for me after class? I’m meeting up with Ransom before my history lecture later this afternoon and can’t swing by the campus mail center.”

Kent watches as Jack pulls an envelope out of his bag and holds it out to him beseechingly. He hesitates before making his decision. “Of course, man, I’ll drop it off on my way back to the Haus.” Kent gently takes the letter and slips it into his own bag.

“Thanks, Kenny.” Jack slaps a grateful hand across Kent’s back and opens the door to their lecture hall as they file in with a few other straggling students.

Kent sits with Jack at their usual spot a few rows back from the front and contemplates the sheer audacity of the universe.

* * *

Kent hasn’t been to the freshmen dorm mail center in over a year, but the woman at the front desk, Sue, remembers him and helps him figure out how to send letters inter-campus. She actually directs him right to Bitty’s mailbox since he wants to send it to another student. The little bell at the front door jingles and she walks back to help whoever walked in and lets him slip the letter into Bitty’s box himself.

“Kent?”

Kent freezes, his fingers still brushing against the metal of the mailbox. He feels his face break out into a sweat as he slowly turns to see Bitty standing at the desk in front of Sue.

_Shit._

Kent watches with dread as Bitty’s eyes follow Kent’s arm, down to where his hand is clearly pressed against Bitty’s mailbox, having just dropped off one of Jack’s fucking anonymous love notes.

_Please don’t think that I-_

A breathtaking grin splits Bitty’s face, and Kent wishes to any god that might be out there that he could go back in time and avoid all this in the first place.

“Oh my goodness.” Bitty gasps, his face flying up to his face in surprise. “Kent, you-?” He can’t speak.

Kent stands there with his mouth hanging open but no sound coming out at all. He’s still got his fingers pressed against the damn mailbox for Christ sake. _Say something, idiot!_

Bitty takes a few stumbling steps towards Kent, that same golden grin glued to his face. “I…I knew it!”

Kent finds himself with a sudden armful of blushing Bitty. “I knew it was you! It had to be you!” Bitty clutches Kent’s biceps and gazes up at him with something akin to wonder in his gaze. “We met around the time that I started getting the notes, and then our date at Annie’s-” Kent does not even have time to unpack that one right now, “-And you skate! I knew the letters had to be written by a skater!”

Bitty takes a step back and Kent watches with horror as he actually wipes a tear from the corner of his eye. This kid is so goddamn ecstatic at the thought that Kent has been the one writing these letters. This would be the happiest day of Kent’s entire life if that were true.

If he could stop thinking for a moment how heartbreakingly devastated Jack will be if Kent lets this go on any longer than he already has.

“But Kent,” Bitty brings Kent’s attention back to the situation at hand. “Why didn’t you just tell me you were the one who wrote the letters and gave me all those gifts.” He seems to remember something, his brown eyes widening with alarm. “Oh! The flowers! Look, I am so sorry I gave them away like that, but really Kent Parson, I don’t care how many fancy hockey games you may have played back in Juniors, you can’t just buy a boy _ten dozen_ fancy rose bouquets, good gracious!”

Kent prays for a sinkhole to inexplicably hit Massachusetts and swallow him into the earth. “Bitty, I-”

“Hon, your care package is up here!” Sue calls from the desk, where a student employee has just walked out with a truly outrageously sized cardboard box that has a decently drawn cartoon peach on the side of it with sharpie marker.

“Thanks, Miss Sue!” Bitty turns towards Kent and points a stern finger at him. “We will continue this talk later at the Haus, I promise! I gotta run this back to my dorm before I head over tonight.” He glances up at Kent shyly before planting a swift kiss to the older boy’s cheek. “See you later, Mr. Parson.”

Kent watches, dumbstruck, as Bitty signs a form that Sue slides over and takes his enormous box out of the hands of the struggling student employee. He waves slightly in Kent’s direction with his fingers as he carries the box outside the freshman mail center.

Sue catches his eye after a few seconds. She winks at him and gives an encouraging thumbs up. “Good on you, hon, he’s a sweet one.” Kent nods slowly and decides to exit through the back, wondering how the hell he’s going to manage to tell Jack about this gigantic screw-up of his.

* * *

There’s no way Kent can go back to the Haus with a clear conscience if he doesn’t immediately tell Jack what happened. He finds himself power walking over to Jack’s lecture hall and collapsing against the wall outside his classroom.

He sits there, ruminating in his own guilt, until students start trickling out into the hall. Same spare him a quick glance, but they must figure he’s stressed about an exam or something and leave him be.

“Kent?” Jack’s shadow washes over Kent as he leaves his classroom and finds his friend slumped over at the end of the hallway. “Is everything okay?” He asks, concerned.

Kent takes a gulping breath and looks up at Jack nervously. “Bitty thinks I’ve been sending him the letters.”

Jack stares blankly before joining Kent on the floor. “Explain from the beginning please.”

“He caught me at the freshman mail center. I had literally just put the fucking letter in, Jack, and he came waltzing in to pick up a package.” Kent groans and runs his fingers roughly through his cowlicks, tugging at the strands at the nape of his neck in frustration.

Jack clasps his hands together and lets them sit on his knees. “What did he say?”

Kent sits in silence for a long minute until he sighs. “Uh, well…” He glances over nervously to study Jack’s expression, but the man is still staring unblinkingly at the adjacent wall. “He didn’t…Well, he wasn’t upset? But he had to go bring that package back to his dorm room and I didn’t really get a chance to correct him. I just.” He reaches out a hand and holds it hovering above Jack’s clenched hands. “I wanted to tell you right away. I didn’t want to make you upset.”

Judging by the stricken expression on Jack’s face, Kent doesn’t quite think he managed that.

“What happens now?” Jack asks after a moment.

Kent bites his bottom lip nervously and shrugs. “I think you should talk to him.” He looks over and makes sure he’s got Jack’s attention. “Bitty. Bittle. Eric. You should actually talk to him. Tell him how you feel.” He lays a hand encouragingly on Jack’s shoulder. “Finally get everything out in the open.”

“Where will that leave you?” Jack reaches out and grasps desperately at Kent’s hand.

Kent threads his fingers through Jack’s and holds on just as tightly. “Where else would I be? By your side, as your best friend ever, stupid.” He heaves out a sigh and pushes himself off the hallway floor, pulling Jack up alongside him. He glances around, but the halls seem pretty deserted. Everyone is either in their lecture hall or headed back to the main campus to eat or frantically finish homework. Kent pulls Jack into a strong hug, patting his back and giving him an encouraging grin. “Let yourself be happy for once in your life, Zimms.” He takes a step back and holds Jack by the biceps. “Bitty can help you with that, if he’s willing.”

Jack takes a deep breath, steeling himself against the rush of doubt that surges up in his gut. He gives Kent a small smile. “Only one way to find out,” he states, determined.

“Thatta boy, Zimms.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you been keeping track of all the fics that are being revealed during the Fest? They're painfully wonderful!! My mutual pining debacle has not even come CLOSE to the level of angst some of those fics are bringing to the table. Talent runs rampant through this fandom and I'm so grateful to everyone who cheered me on to get to the point where I can share my stuff with you lovely people!


	6. Bitty's Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The resolution of our little play!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am posting this on the world's shittiest hotel wifi because I'm out of town on a business trip this week, so I hope it posts ok!  
> I present to you, the long-anticipated (maybe? I hope?) conclusion to our tale! Hope you enjoy it! And please, let me know what you think! 
> 
> Real quick note, because someone asked about it - what's up with Jack and Kent? Are they in love? Are they ex-lovers? Are they hopeful romantics?  
> That's up to you! I tried to make it ambiguous, but Jack and Kent in this fic are just so deeply intertwined with each other, I kinda just left it as...Them. But yeah, absolutely they have smooched and will smooch again, for sure ;) Anyway, let's get on with the show!

Jack takes a minute to appreciate the grim irony of finally coming back to the Haus when Bitty is still here right when he’d rather be having this conversation anywhere else. Luckily, the living room is empty. Ransom and Holster must have gone back to their dorm for the night, and there’s a possibility Lardo is hanging out in Shitty’s room upstairs, but for now, it’s just Kent and Jack in the room. They hear sounds coming from the kitchen – of course – so Bitty must be in there.

Kent tilts his head in the direction of the kitchen and takes Jack’s backpack. “I’ll be in the room, good luck, man.” Kent sneaks off up the stairs, leaving Jack to face his fear right when it matters most.

 _You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,_ his uncle Wayne’s words echo in his head as he heads to the kitchen like a man at the gallows. He takes one more deep breath before he crosses the threshold and taps against the wood of the doorway.

Bittle is bent over in front of the oven, lowering something into it that looks like a pie – Jack spares a moment to think baking a pie so late in the day is a tad unusual – but startles when he hears the knocking.

“Oh! Oh, Jack, hello.” He finishes placing the pie safely into the oven and closes the door, peeling off his mitts so he can tap a finger against the screen of his phone to set a timer. He smiles cordially and gives Jack his full attention, making the man start to sweat. “What can I do for you?”

Jack thinks of Kent’s words of encouragement and vows not to be his usual socially inept self for once in his life. “Uh, I wanted to talk to you about something…” He sees Eric glance behind him – likely looking for Kent – and takes another step into the kitchen to lean against the counter on the opposite side of the oven that Eric is standing by. “It’s about the, uh, letters…you’ve been getting.”

Bitty feels a blush rush up to his face. “Oh goodness, did Kent tell you about them? I know you too are close. Is this some sort of intimidation tactic?” He wipes his palms against his jeans and lets out a nervous laugh. “I’ll have to admit, I wasn’t exactly expecting you to be the one to do this, but I guess it could fall under those ‘captain-ly duties,’ right?”

Jack can tell this is going to be difficult, but he finds it in himself to power through. “No, nothing like that. I just, there was a – a misunderstanding today. I wanted to come clean about it. Kent doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Bittle looks painfully confused. “Did he…change his mind?”

Jack waves his hands in a slight panic. “No! Well-” he cringes. “Not exactly. I mean-” Jack tugs at the hair of his nape, struggling.

Bitty feels tears springing up into his eyes. “If he doesn’t want to be with me after all, he can tell me himself. I deserve a direct rejection at least, don’t you think?” _After spending all this time with me._

“Kent didn’t write those letters!” Jack explodes.

Bitty blinks. He blinks again. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

“I-” Jack pushes his bangs off his red face. “I wrote them.”

“But Kent was-”

“-Delivering a letter for me while I was in class. I wrote it. I wrote them all.” Jack meets Bitty’s eyes unwaveringly. “I like you, Bittle. A lot.”

Bitty grips the hem of his shirt tightly. “You’ve hardly spoken two words to me since we met!”

Jack flinches like he’s been slapped. “You may have noticed I – My people skills are not as great as Kent’s or Shitty’s. I’m – I’m awkward.”

Bitty snorts at that and slaps a hand to his mouth in mortification.

“No, that’s okay. It’s true.” He tries a new approach. “Uh, I saw you skating last semester. The way you were gliding across the ice – that was – that was magical.”

Bitty stares at Jack, unblinking, as he continues.

“I’ve never felt more at home anywhere more than when I’m on the ice. It looked like you felt the same. You looked so at peace. I was late to my next class because I just stood there, in the stands at Faber, watching you skate.”

Jack takes half a step closer to where Bitty is clutching both hands to his chest, watching him speak with wide eyes.

“I saw you and I just – it was like hockey – I-” he reaches out a hand and waits for Bitty to meet him halfway. Bitty does, laying his fingers carefully onto Jack’s open palm. “I like you, Eric.”

Bitty gazes up at Jack in awe for an extended moment. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

Jack nods. “That’s okay.” He gently squeezes Bitty’s fingers. “Thank you for listening to me.”

He lets go of Bitty’s hand and turns to walk out of the kitchen. He hesitates in the doorway before he glances back and says, “Kent’s upstairs, in case you wanted to talk with him. For what it’s worth, he does really like you. I think you should know that just because he wasn’t your secret admirer, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t admire you at all.”

He looks at Bitty standing in the kitchen with his hand hanging in the air. He leaves before he can get a response.

~

Kent is startled when Jack bursts through the door of their room and flops down face-first onto his bed. He pulls one earbud out casually from his ear and pauses the music he had playing on his phone.

“Wow, bud, I’m getting some déjà vu right now.” Kent chuckles, trying to break the tension. “How did it go?” He wraps his headphones around his phone and pets Kit when she hops up onto his bed.

Jack rolls over onto his back and exhales forcefully. “I told him how I feel, Kenny, we’ll see what happens now.”

“…Wanna snuggle with Kit?”

Jack laughs. “No thanks, bud.”

Both men look over at the door as they hear a tentative knock. Kent and Jack glance briefly at each other before both yelling out, “Come in!”

Bitty pokes his head into the room. Kent and Jack sit up at once.

“I was wondering if I could talk with y’all about…everything.” Bitty asks, skittish.

“Yeah, ‘course you can, Bits.” Kent says as Jack nods encouragingly.

Bitty walks fully into their room and leans against the door after he closes it behind him. He takes a big breath before glancing over at Kit and then fixing his gaze firmly on the ceiling.

“When I came to Samwell, I was hoping to find a place where I could finally be myself. Georgia’s my home and all but, well, it’s no place for a boy like me, and I realized that a long time ago.” He casts a brief glance towards Kent and Jack in turn before turning his gaze upwards once more. “When I came to this school, I was focused on two things: skating, and learning how to be me. I wanted to finally hold hands with a boy without being afraid. I wanted my first kiss. I wanted-” he clears his throat. “I wanted a boyfriend that I could go on dates with, and tell my friends about, and be proud of.”

Kit extracts herself from Kent’s side and hops off the bed to wind herself around Bitty’s legs. Bitty crouches down to rub her chin and carefully scoop her up. He stands and finally makes eye contact with Kent and Jack. “Never in my whole life would I expect to find all that twice over before my freshman year is even done.”

Kent perks up, hopeful.

“Is this you saying you’ve made a choice or is this…something else?” he asks, sharing a look with Jack.

Bitty cradles Kit to his chest and blushes nervously. “Getting those letters and gifts this year, it’s been such an incredible thing to have happened to me. The person I’ve learned about through those letters,” he turns to Jack, “I’ve been falling for them, wholeheartedly.”

Jack smiles.

Bitty turns to Kent. “But I’ve also gotten to know you this year, and you’ve been so kind, and fun, and – well – you’re not too hard on the eyes, honey.” Kent laughs at that. “Honestly, Lardo and I had our suspicions that you were writing me the letters, because you were too shy to say them to me directly.” He smiles over at Jack. “I guess that last part was true at least, a little bit.”

Jack doesn’t want to interrupt, but – “Are you saying…you have feelings for both of us?”

Bitty hides his face in Kit’s fur, but he nods. “I don’t think – if I had to _choose_ ,” he says with distaste, “I just don’t think that would be possible, at this point. So I guess what I’m proposing.” He looks up at Kent and Jack in turn. “Is either I don’t pursue a relationship with either of you, or maybe-”

“Maybe we come up with a new sort of arrangement,” Kent offers.

Jack scratches his fingers through the hair on the back of his head. “An arrangement with all three of us?”

“Believe me, I wasn’t ever expecting to end up involved in something like this,” Bitty says. “But a quick google search has led me to discover there’s a lot more to polyamory than just dating multiple people.”

Kent shares a silent conversation with Jack’s impossibly blue eyes across the room. “I think I’m keen to try if everyone else is.”

Bitty breathes a sigh of relief and glances over at Jack hopefully, who leans his chin on his hand in thought.

“I think…I’m sitting in a room with two people who are both incredibly important to me, and I’d really like to see how this goes.”

Bitty grins blindingly and walks over to place Kit lightly back onto the bed. She hops over to Kent and lays down on his lap. Suddenly, everyone is sharing in a round of delighted laughter.

Jack tosses his legs over the side of his bed and leans towards Bitty. “I hope you don’t mind but – I’d very much like to kiss you now.”

Bitty flushes and flashes his eyes in Kent’s direction, who nods supportively. He looks back at Jack, who’s staring at him so intensely Bitty feels he might just melt to the floor. He nods and steps forward towards Jack’s bed, their knees brushing up against each other. Bitty licks his lips nervously.

“Hi.”

Jack smiles and can’t find it in himself to tear his eyes away from Bitty’s mouth. “Hi.”

“Go for it, Zimmermann, I’m on the edge of my seat here!” Kent taunts from where he’s watching with rapt attention.

Jack rolls his eyes but takes the advice, catching Bitty’s bottom lip softly between his own.

Bitty gasps in surprise before sighing softly. He reaches out and catches the fabric of Jack’s shirt between his fingers.

Jack’s hands come up and cradle Bitty’s neck, traveling upwards to wind his fingers in the fluffy mop of honey blonde hair on Bitty’s head.

Bitty leans forward and catches Jack’s top lip firmly in his own, humming happily. He and Jack exchange a few more pecks before Jack turns his gaze over Bitty’s shoulder and laughs softly. Bitty’s still a bit dazed from the sweetness of Jack’s kisses, but Jack releases one of his hands from Bitty’s hair to let him follow his stare over to Kent, who’s gaping at them from the other side of the room. He’s got a scarlet flush over his cheeks, but his eyes are sparkling like he won the lottery.

Bitty turns fully around and smirks. “Got something to add, Mr. Parson?” he asks.

“Oh, I definitely think I could add something,” Kent pipes up with a leer.

Bitty stumbles over to Kent. His thighs touch Kent’s knees thanks to the elevated college-standard twin bed. “Why hello there.” Bitty places his hands down on the mattress on either side of Kent’s thighs for leverage before Kent bends down and catches his swollen lip lightly between his teeth. Bitty lets out a squeak that makes Kent laugh uproariously.

“Oh, _very funny_ , smartass. Come here.” Bitty grabs Kent by the jaw and pulls him into a heavy kiss. It’s Kent’s turn to make a noise, moaning softly when Bitty finds his tongue with his own. They sway together a moment longer before separating and sharing shy, happy smiles.

The moment is interrupted by the sound of Bitty’s timer going off in his back pocket. He startles, “The pie!” Bitty taps his phone to turn off the alarm, and rushes to the door. He turns back to address – his boyfriends? Oh my god, his _boyfriends! –_ and grins. “Hope y’all like apple! Pie should be cooled off and ready to eat in about fifteen minutes. See you soon!” He disappears through the door, leaving Kent and Jack to sit in dazed silence.

“Well Zimms, I think this boy may be more dangerous than either of us was expecting.” Kent sighs, awed.

Jack chuckles and runs his palms down the sides of his pants. “I think you may be right about that, Kenny.”

“You in the mood for some pie?”

“I have a feeling I’m going to be getting pie to my heart’s content from now on.”

“Good thing it’s fucking fantastic pie then.”

Jack gazes fondly at Kent as the two of them hop up from their beds and head downstairs to join Bitty in the kitchen. He throws an arm over Kent’s shoulders and agrees, “Yeah, good thing.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for clicking on my fic!! I'm so lucky to have been able to share my work with this incredible fandom! This project has been the longest I've been able to write, like, EVER! Thank you for every hit, kudos, and comment that you've been kind enough to give me!


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